Detecting hydrogen by measuring amplified hydride crystallographic changes
AssigneeMulticore Technologies, LLC
InventorsChristian Adams, Jody Wilson
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Abstract
A system and method is disclosed for providing a hydrogen sensor optimally comprising a multicore optical fiber strain sensor, interacting with a kinematic or mechanical amplification assembly, which is in turn connected to a responsive hydrogen storage material. In general, the sensor comprises any system or method whereby hydrogen concentration is derived from measuring the strain associated with crystallographic change and/or displacement associated with a hydrogen storage material as it takes up and gives off hydrogen.
Claims14
An improved fiber-optic hydrogen point sensor, comprising a device assembly with at least three (3) components, including:
- a) a hydridable substance such as hydride presented so that hydrogen uptake and release-related crystallographic distortion is readily measurable across at least one axis or dimension, and
- b) an optional mechanical or kinematic amplification mechanism, and
- c) a strain sensor with design options including optical fiber, specifically multicore fiber (MCF) or Fabry Perot fiber-optic interferometric strain sensors;
- or Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensors, or Michelson interferometric sensors, or conventional Wheatstone bridge electrical strain sensors, or even electromagnetic radiation-based displacement sensors that are able to measure strain indirectly, including but not limited to millimeter wave or laser-based displacement detection mechanisms, or 3D scanning technologies.
A method of using a fiber optic sensor comprising:
- a. providing a single mode optical fiber (SMF)-multiple core optical fiber (MCF)-single mode optical fiber (SMF-MCF-SMF) set having serially/optically-aligned central cores;
- b. inputting a fundamental mode propagating in a leading one of the SMFs into the MCF;
- and
- c. exciting between two to eight supermodes in the MCF propagating therein comprising a periodic modulation of a spectral response of the sensor due to multimode interference of the two to eight supermodes in the MCF.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.